Western Lakes and Mountains, US

Sebago Lake State Park provides swimming, picnicking, camping, boating and fishing opportunities. To the north is Naples, with cruises and boat rentals on Long Lake. Songo Lake connects the northern tip of Sebago Lake wotj :pmg :ale/ The Songo River Queen, a 92 ft stern wheeler, runs hour long cruises on Long Lake and longer voyages down the Songo River and through Songo Lake. These are closed during October to May and limited schedule June and September.

Bridgton, near Highland Lake, has antiques shops in and around town. US 302 to Route 5 through Lovell or Routes 35 and 37 through Harrison and the Water fords are scenic routes to Bethel, a town with white clapboard houses, antique stores and a mountain vista at the end of every street. The area Bethel to Rangeley Lake is beautiful too particularly in autumn. In Grafton Notch State park you can hike to stunning gorges and waterfalls and into the Baldpate Mountains. For more than a century, Rangeley has lured people who fish to its more than 40 lakes and ponds. Rangeley Lake State park has superb scenery, swimming, picnicking, and boating. Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Rail road has a century old train that traverses the woods and this is closed during November to May.

Miami Beach restaurants, shops

Made up of 17 islands in Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach is a separate city from Miami. In recent years “American Riviera” has received the carefree spirit of the early 1920s by renewing its South Beach area. Today South Beach revels in world glory as a lure for models and millionaires. The hub of South Beach is the 1 square mi Art Deco District which stretches along Ocean Drive and is the most talked about beachfront in America. About 800 significant buildings in the district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places – it is the nation’s first 20th century district to be honored as such.

Begin your tour of the Art Deco District at the Art Deco District Welcome Center. Proceed north past pastel hue Art Deco hotels (outlined in brilliant neon at night) on your left and the palm fringed beach on your right. You will also pass the magnificently restored Casa Casuarinas home of the late fashion designer Gianni Versace. The neighborhood’s two main commercial streets are Collins Avenue, on block west of Ocean Drive and one block farther west Washington Avenue. The latter is a colorful mix of Jewish, Cuban, Haitian and more familiar American cultures, containing delicatessens, avant-garde stores, produce markets, shops selling religious artifacts, and many of the city’s best restaurants and night clubs. Espanola Way off Washington is a quaint avenue with a youth hostel, clubs restaurants and ethnic shops a later afternoon flea market is held here each Sunday. Three blocks north is the Lincoln Road Mall, a lively pedestrian shopping street with upscale restaurants, eclectic shops and great people watching.

National and State Parks in Alaska

Alaska has more land in national parks, wilderness areas and national wildlife refuges than all the other states combined. Denali National Park and Preserve is home to North America’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley and the admission fee to this park is very nominal. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a marine preserve where 17 spectacular glaciers meet tidewater and seals float on icebergs. Huge coastal brown bears fish for salmon in the Brooks River and other wild, remote clear-water streams at Katmai National Park and Preserve is a mixture of volcanic moonscape, rugged coast, large lake systems, mountains and forested low lands on the Alaska Peninsula.

On the Kenai Fjords National Park known for its tide water glaciers, rugged fjords and abundant marine wild life. The country’s largest national park, Wrangell-St. Elias east of Anchorage along the Canadian border s six times the size of Yellowstone. Chugach State Park near Anchorage, has more than 100 mi of hiking trails, wildlife viewing and easily accessible wilderness. Denali State Park has a ridge top trail with views of the Alaska Range and public use cabins.

Minneapolis Parks, Garden and Zoos

Minnehaha Park, on the Mississippi near the airport is the site of Minnehaha Falls, which was made famous by Longfellow’s song of Hiawatha. Above the waterfall is a statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. Minnehaha Parkway follows Minnehaha Creek, providing miles of jogging, biking and in line skating trails that run west to Lake Harriet, one of many lakes in Minneapolis.

Wirth Park has bicycling and waling paths through wooded areas and the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden – a little Eden of local forest and prairie flora. Wirth also has a moderately challenging 18 hole public golf course, which doubles as a cross country ski area in winter.

In Minneapolis’s Apple Valley suburb, the Minnesota Zoo houses some 2000 animals in natural settings along six year round trials. There is also a monorail, the Zoo lab a seasonal children zoo, bird and animal shows and daily film and slide shows are available.

Heard Museum, Phoenix tourism

One of the America’s newest, fastest-growing major urban centers, metropolitan Phoenix lies at the northern tip of the Sonora Desert, in the Valley of the Sun, named for its 330 plus days of sunshine each year. Now chic Scottsdale began in 1901 as fewer than a dozen adobe houses and 30 odd tents put up by seekers of healthful desert air. Glendale and Peoria on the wet side and Temper, Mesa, Gilbert and Candler o the east constitute the nation’s third largest Silicon Valley. Excellent hiking, golf, shopping and dinning and some of the best luxury resorts in the country make the valley of the country’s leading business and vocation destinations.

The Heard Museum with a stunning expansion reaffirms it position as the world’s foremost showcase of Native American art and culture. This is a fantastic place to visit. The exceptional collection of find art, basketry and pottery, including first class contemporary work, is supplemented by interactive exhibits, a multimedia show and live demonstration by artisans and performers. Western paintings are a primary focus of the galleries at the Phoenix Art Museum.

Shopping and Arts in Alabama, USA

Birmingham Rivercahse Galleria with more than 200 stores, is one of the Southeast's largest malls. The Summit one of Birmingham's most upscale malls, is a pedestrian friendly, one level shopping center. Booz Fashion Outlets has more than 100 outlet and specialty stores.

In Montgomery at the world-class Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Shakespearean plays, contemporary dramas and comedies and musicals are performed on two stages year round. To know about visitor information you can get all tourist information at Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Alabama State Parks

Alabama’s 24 state parks include many recreational activities and lodgings. You have the choice of resort lodges, hotels, camp grounds, chalets, and cabins both modern and rustic. Several parks have marinas, gold courses and tennis facilities. You can contact Alabama State parks for reservations or information. Desoto State park, Fort Payne, in northern Alabama has the spectacular Little River Canyon and falls. Lake Guntersville State park also in the northern part of the State is home of the annual Eagle Awareness programs. Gulf State park near Gulf Shores has 2 ½ mi of powdery white dunes and beaches.

Birmingham is a relatively new Alabama city, having blossomed with the development of the iron industry and coal mines in the early 1900s. Today its primary employer is the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which has one of the country’s largest medical centres. The city has restored many of its early 20th century buildings and is an attractive and welcoming metropolis.

US - Alabama Tourist information

If you are planning to visit Alabama- Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel will provide you all necessary information. Their web site address is touralabama.org Talladega Scenic Drive beings at US near Heflin and winds through Talladega National Forest to Adams Gap, Southwest of Chesham State park. The 25 minute drive has scenic views, especially in March and April and mid October-mid November. In and around Mobile, the Azalea Trail twines for 27 minute, flowering time is February and March.

This region encompasses the hilly Highlands around Birmingham, the State’s largest city and the State capital Montgomery which is in the heart of the black belt region, named for its rich, dark soil. This State’s Bird is yellowhammer and flower is Camellia. Motto of the State is We Dare Defend Our Rights.